Cage fish farming set for revival at Kadamakudy

TNN | Apr 26, 2019, 09.49 AM IST

KOCHI: After floods devastated cage farms, people in Kadamakudy panchayat are preparing to set up new cage farms. With technical support from Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), cage fish farming is set for revival in the backwaters of the panchayat. For this, CMFRI has partnered with Korampadam Service Co-operative Bank, Kothad, to help small-scale entrepreneurs to invest in cage fish farming.

"We have completed training to all fish farmers. They were given a skill development programme on how to practice the less-expensive farming method," said senior scientist and head of mariculture division, CMFRI, Imelda Joseph.

As many as 114 villagers attended the training that covered various stages of cage fish farming such as cage fabrication, site identification, species selection, feed management, harvest and marketing.

Visits to cage farming sites and practical training were also provided. Species such as cobia, seabass, snappers, mullets and pearl spots will be used for cage farming. This programme has been linked with CMFRI's ongoing project launched last year with an aim to train 5,000 fisherfolk across the country in practicing cage fish farming with financial assistance of national fisheries development board (NFDB).

Joseph said that this was part of the nationwide programme in which more than 2,500 fishermen were trained in units that are currently operational across the coastal states under CMFRI's technical guidance.